BitGo, one of the world’s largest Bitcoin (BTC) transaction processors, is integrating a new API into its crypto wallet service to support the Financial Action Task Force’s travel rule. BitGo told Cointelegraph on July 14 that the company is the first wallet service to provide an in-house API solution for the FATF’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations, known as the "travel rule." Specifically, BitGo is now extending its API endpoints to enable its clients to transfer additional transaction-related data required under the new rule. Intended to provide more transparency, the new tool is expected to enable the exchange of data about …

Cryptocurrency data startup Nomics, in partnership with Nexo, is introducing algorithmic rankings of crypto wallets, lenders, custodians, tax services and over-the-counter desks. The plan is to eventually extend these rankings to every crypto product category, including media outlets. According to Nomics CEO Clay Collins, the same algorithm is applied to all categories without any manual intervention, which should make the rankings more objective. Each entity receives a reputation score based on social media activity and site links. The exact recipe is not disclosed in order to prevent manipulation. Unexpected results This blind algorithm, at times, produces interesting results. Nexo tops …

Researchers suggest that utility token issuers should provide basic levels of transparency to the public before listing on exchanges. They say that doing so may increase stakeholder confidence and attract new market participants. This is the key to crypto adoption, according to Duke University School of Law’s FinReg Blog on June 25. Disclosure of certain information is key for crypto performance In the blog post, authors Nicholas J. Krapels and Dan Liebau pointed out that the majority of crypto industry experts don’t believe utility token issuers disclose enough information to their stakeholders. This could be the main reason these cryptos …

Algorand founder Silvio Micali played a Blockchain-recorded chess game against grandmaster Sergey Karjakin. This marked a historic moment for the fifteen hundred year old game. Gentlemen are cheating too The match, which was the inaugural game for FIDE Online Arena, was broadcast via World Chess. Although chess is considered a gentleman’s game, cheating presents a real challenge to its integrity. The hope is that recording games transparently and immutably using blockchain technology will help curtail existing problems. Chess has not been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic as much as other sports. Timing was in fact rather apt, as competition had …

June 15, Unilever unveiled a $1 billion initiative aimed at fighting climate change in which blockchain technology will play an integral role. Traceability & transparency Unilever is establishing a €1 billion ($1.13 billion) fund that over the next ten years will be used to protect the environment: “To accelerate action, Unilever’s brands will collectively invest €1 billion in a new dedicated Climate & Nature Fund. This will be used over the next ten years to take meaningful and decisive action, with projects likely to include landscape restoration, reforestation, carbon sequestration, wildlife protection and water preservation.” The company hopes to achieve …

Russia’s upcoming e-voting on the Constitutional amendments will be implemented using blockchain technology. Moscow citizens will be able to cast their votes on Vladimir Putin’s Constitutional amendments online via blockchain-powered e-voting. As announced on the Moscow government’s official website, Moscow voters can sign up for the upcoming e-voting starting from June 5. Blockchain makes voting “almost impossible to hack” Scheduled to take place from June 25 to June 30, the e-voting will be implementing blockchain technology to “ensure security and transparency.” As officially announced, blockchain will help to anonymize and encrypt each vote to provide safety and immutability of data. …

Global implementation of blockchain technology in the food industry continues to grow as the world’s biggest food and beverage company, Nestlé, doesn’t put its blockchain efforts on hold. On April 6, Nestlé announced that the company is expanding its long-running IBM Food Trust blockchain technology platform to its coffee brand Zoégas. Getting all necessary coffee info from blockchain database With this new implementation, Zoégas coffee lovers will now be able to trace select coffee editions back to different origins in Brazil, Rwanda and Colombia, the company said. Additionally, consumers will be able to access some relevant coffee information including time …

On Feb. 26, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced the rejection of yet another ETF submission from Wilshire Phoenix, a New York-based investment firm, citing a lack of resistance to market manipulation and fraudulent activity. The filing stated that the NYSE Arca had not demonstrated that the market was “designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices and to protect investors and the public interest.” While Wilshire Phoenix aimed to base its ETF both on Bitcoin (BTC) and the United States Treasury bonds to hedge against Bitcoin's volatility in a hope to break the trend of ETF rejections, the …

Blockstack PBC announced on Jan. 29 the completion of its “Milestone II” that unlocked $6.8 million from its 2017 initial coin offering. The project claims to have on-boarded one million verified users, an achievement that some in the community did not believe. Cointelegraph conducted an analysis of blockchain data to see if this claim could be confirmed. The importance of the milestone The Blockstack initial coin offering (ICO) was conducted in November 2017 through the CoinList platform. It was notable for being “SEC-qualified,” meaning that it had stronger reporting obligations to the regulators and implied that it was not at …

A major global company that helps fight illicit cryptocurrency-related activity does not think that privacy in crypto markets is necessarily bad. Despite representing one of the primary sources of crypto transaction data for federal agencies like the Internal Revenue Service and the FBI, Chainalysis does not exactly oppose the privacy and decentralization of crypto. “Complete transparency is not necessarily an ideal place” Jonathan Levin, co-founder and CSO at blockchain and crypto analytics firm Chainalysis, reiterated his stance to privacy in crypto, claiming that full transparency of cryptocurrency transactions might not turn out to be the best situation. Speaking in an …

A contributor of major Ethereum browser extension Metamask has reported that the MetaMask team is “totally overwhelmed” and not being prioritized by its parent company ConsenSys. In a Dec. 25 Reddit post, Reddit user lazaridiscom3 alleges that the MetaMask team is not getting the support it needs from ConsenSys, and, consequently, the whole team of 24 employees is overwhelmed. Redditor says the Ethereum’s “critical value-moving piece” isn’t decentralized The post, titled “Help MetaMask out of its Activity-Trap,” goes on to say that the MetaMask team has a number of unsolved issues and its inner workflow structure is neither transparent nor …

London-based cryptocurrency compliance firm Elliptic has launched a new tool that allows banks to work more closely with crypto exchanges. Dubbed Elliptic Discovery, the product collects detailed profiles of more than 200 global crypto exchanges to enable banks to manage risks associated with crypto transactions, Business Insider reports Dec. 11. Elliptic Discovery includes data collected since 2013 Designed specifically for banks, Elliptic Discovery reportedly provides compliance teams with necessary insights to identify flows of funds on crypto assets and assess risks including money laundering. The tool is reportedly based on Elliptic's data that was collected since 2013 and offers a …